Collenia

Collenia
Temporal range: SiderianRhyacian
Section of Collenia undosa stromatolite from 2110 million year old banded iron formation, Biwabik
Collenia undosa stromatolite from Precambrian of United States
Scientific classification
Domain: Bacteria
Kingdom: Bacillati
Phylum: Cyanobacteriota
Genus:
Walcott 1914[1]
Type species
Collenia undosa
Species
  • C. frequens
  • C. symmetrica
  • C. undosa

Collenia is genus of fossil cyanobacteria that form a particular type of stromatolites.[2]

Description

Collenia are stromatolites made up of convex layers flattened in the center, forming columnar colonies. The microorganisms involved were likely photosynthetic bacteria expiring oxygen.[3]

Fossil record

Collenia stromatolites were very common in the Paleoproterozoic era during the Siderian and Rhyacian periods, about 2.2 to 2.4 billion years ago.

See also

References

  1. ^ Smithsonian miscellaneous collections Walcott 1914 si.edu
  2. ^ Rich, Thomas H. V.; Fenton, Carroll Lane; Fenton, Mildred Adams; Rich, Pat Vickers (1996). The fossil book: a record of prehistoric life. New York: Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-29371-8.
  3. ^ Carroll Lane Fenton,Pat Vickers Rich,Mildred Adams Fenton,Thomas H. V. Rich The Fossil Book: A Record of Prehistoric Life